Innocent Touches
by SamoaCookie
Summary: Emily is sleeping in Corvo's room as per usual, she is content until a unwelcome visitor arrives. Third and last installment of my 'Touches' trilogy. Corvo/jealous Outsider. (Now Edited)


Innocent Touches

**Hey there my gentle readers. Well this is the last installment to my 'Touches' series; I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did. So please enjoy, and leave a review.**

A beautiful red sunrise broke the metallic gray horizon, bathing the remunerative metropolis of Dunwall in soft calming hues; packs of rats scurried off the paved streets into their hovels, to make way for clouds of flies floating about the bundled bodies of plague victims. The slow rising sun looked so innocent in comparison to the waning shadows of night. A whimsical party had been held at the Boyle estate, it was a night of beauty, masked danger, deception. A assassin stalked amongst the masqueraders, no one the wiser until it was too late. Lydia Boyle had vanished without a trace.

Safely hidden in his attic room, Corvo lay exhausted upon the creaky mattress. His chiseled body stripped of everything but the long black pants he wore and a light cotton button up. Normally, the Lord Protector turned vigilante would sleep in his boxers, or even nude if the weather became too stifling. Ever since Emily came to him claiming the tower was haunted by a black eyed ghost, the princess pleaded to Corvo to let her stay. This red dawn morn was no different.

Young Lady Emily lay curled atop her nest of pillows and blankets. Books and drawings lay scattered about the sleeping girl in a untidy mess. The early light of day cast through the dirty windows, over the two occupants.

It was way too early for anyone to be up and about, the day had barely been born when young Emily opened her eyes. The young heiress's mind was still sleep logged, and her small body lay numb on the carpet she liked to sleep on. Normally if this happened, Emily would just go right back to sleep. But something had disturbed the young heiress. Her senses were ringing, there was a presence in not the room, but the atmosphere. Tangible and yet not so; Omnipresent and not there at all. Through the lens of her hazy vision, Emily could see Corvo her bodyguard. The Serkonian born man lay sprawled on the twin sized bed, still caught in sleeps clutches. His feathered brown hair fanned about his rugged handsome face. His strong chest rose and fell slowly with every breath. Wait! Why were the shadows moving? What was that?!Emily shivered a little bit as the muggy room became unpleasantly cool-almost 's when the ghost appeared, sitting pretty as he pleased on the chair by Corvo's bed side, a sinister smirk parting his thin gray tone lips.

Emily's scrawny body shuddered involuntarily at the ever dropping temperature; by now goose bumps were forming over her young fair skin. The princess inhaled sharply when insidious onix eyes fell upon her prone form; the specter held her gaze as if daring the girl to move. Long pale fingers raked through the slumbering assassin's brown hair, The Outsider lent over to place a cold kiss to his exposed neck.

The unwelcome specter dreamily pulling back up "What is it about her Corvo, that drives you to take such risks?" 'Her'? who exactly was 'her'? Emily wondered with well contained nerves " Is it because you do it all in the sake of duty, to set right the wrongs? Righteous revenge for torturing you six months?" each word the entity spoke were even and monotonous with the barest hint of edge. The little heiress decided she didn't like the black eyed ghost talking to her guardian this way, it frightened her and she didn't know why. Emily wasn't as ignorant to everything as most people thought. She knew full well whenever Corvo went out with Samuel, it was dangerous; but she never knew precisely what those dangers entailed. But the ghost who haunted her dreams, and now her waking hours seemed to know.

"_Why can't I move?_" Emily tried shifting her dead limbs, she wanted the ghost away from Corvo "_Corvo please wake up! The ghost is here! Wake up!_" she wanted to scream but her mouth wouldn't open either! If the ghost had noticed her presence he paid no heed, she was caught in some sort of sleep paralysis after all. The Outsider gently took hold and lifted the hand that held his mark, from her position on the floor Emily could barely make out the intricate black lines.

"But we know the real reason, don't we Corvo?" The Outsider smirked directly down at the helpless heiress "but that is of little consequence...eternity is a long time after all" the mysterious spirit then kissed Corvo's mark causing it to glow bright blue. Emily's heart hammered at the shadows about suddenly began to close in and envelope her.

"_Corvo! Corvo stop him! Corvo!_"

"EMILY!"

Emily screamed and launched into a sitting position, the mid morning sun shone bright and friendly through the attic windows, the heiress took calming breaths as the strong reassuring arms of her Lord Protector encircled her "Are you alright? You were having a nightmare." Emily hugged Corvo's torso, his warm cultured voice soothed her fears away. It was just a bad dream, it wasn't real.

"Yes, I dreamed of the black eyed ghost again, he summoned a bunch of shadowy smoke, and tried to swallow me up" as they embraced, Emily did not see Corvo's worried frown "but it was only a dream, and dreams can't hurt me right Corvo?"

The Lord Protector released his young charge and helped her to stand "Yes...it's time to start the day Emily, and Cecelia has breakfast ready down stairs" Emily beamed brightly and skipped happily out the door and down the stairwell. Corvo stood for a fair moment to study the mark on his hand, the source of his power and his connection to The Outsider. A look of anger marred his hansome face, The Outsider and him were going to have a talk.

THE END

**And that's a wrap! I am quite pleased by the way this story panned out. Please review and leave a comment.**


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